The Cincinnati Reds selected Cave in the Rule 5 draft in December of 2015 where he almost earned a spot on the Opening Day roster. The Reds, however, returned him to New York, who assigned the lefty to Double-A Trenton.

After a hot start (.288/.353/.510 in 27 games) he was promoted to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre where he went 84-for-322 (.261) in 89 games.

Overall, he slashed .267/.330/.427 with 26 doubles, nine triples and a career-best eight home runs while splitting time between left and center field. He capped off his roller coaster campaign by becoming the MVP of last season’s Governors’ Cup (Triple-A Championship game).

The 24-year-old was not added to the 40-man roster this season so unless a chain of injuries forces him into the big league picture this season, he will once again to the Rule-5 Draft.

Considering the glut of outfield prospects above him in the farm system, the best opportunity Cave has of cracking a major league roster would be with a team that doesn’t quite have talent blocking him.

Stellar play and a couple of injuries would change that, but it looks like his ascension up the prospect ladder has taken a hit following this operation.

Jake Cave had arthroscopic surgery on his left knee & will begin the season on the DL, per Gary Denbo. Cave wasn't listed in ST work groups.

Christian Kouroupakis covers the New York Yankeesand is the Editorial Director for ESNY. Interact with him and view his daily work by “liking” his facebook pageand follow him on Twitter. All statistics are courtesy of Baseball Reference.com unless otherwise noted. Don’t hesitate to shoot him an emailwith any questions, criticisms, or concerns.